Nyarugenge Primary Court has denied bail to renowned disc jockey Arnaud de Bosscher Shema, popularly known as DJ Toxxyk, and ordered him into 30-day pretrial detention, citing reasonable grounds to suspect his involvement in three of the four charges stemming from a fatal road accident that claimed the life of a police officer last year. According to prosecutors, the offences were committed on December 21 at around 4:00 a.m., when Shema struck and killed police officer Fred Mushabe, who was on duty directing traffic along Sopetrade Road, where construction works were ongoing. The prosecution said that after hitting the officer, Shema abandoned the vehicle near ONOMO Hotel and fled the scene. He is charged with manslaughter, fleeing the scene of an accident, and drug-related offences. In its ruling, held on January 21, the court noted that during the bail hearing, the accused admitted to two of the charges, manslaughter and fleeing the scene, which constituted sufficient grounds to suspect that he committed the crimes. On the charge of using narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, the court stated that Shema had confessed during the investigation. The court further noted that hybrid cannabis was found in his home and that he signed a document confirming its discovery. Local authorities in his area of residence also reported that he uses marijuana. However, regarding the charge of refusing to submit to an alcohol test, the court found that there was no evidence to support the allegation and concluded that it could not be established that Shema had refused to be tested. Prosecutors requested the court to remand the accused pending trial, citing ongoing investigations, the risk of evading justice, and the seriousness of the charges. In his defence, Shema told the court that he dozed off while driving, lost control of the vehicle after hitting a pavement, and was unable to regain control, leading to the fatal accident. He admitted fleeing the scene but said he did so out of fear and shock. He said he travelled to Karongi District to seek advice from a friend, who later contacted the authorities. “I was afraid after the accident,” he told the court. On the drug-related charge, the accused denied possession or use of cannabis, arguing that he did not have access to his house at the time of the alleged search. He claimed that investigators took him to his home three days after his arrest, where the drugs were allegedly found despite his lack of access to the premises. He further alleged that investigators made him sign statements without sufficient time to read them and claimed that some of the recorded statements did not reflect what he had actually said. On the allegation of driving under the influence, the defence lawyers said the accused was tested several times, but no results were presented to the court. They argued that without laboratory evidence, there was no basis to assume intoxication at the time of the accident.
